SunYears The Song Forlorn
More than two decades into his career, Peter Morén (of the globally-renowned, Swedenbased project Peter Björn & John) continues to carve his own musical identity through SunYears. The Song Forlorn, the project’s sophomore release, features 10 tracks drifting from early psych rock to modern indie rock, each carried by Morén’s ear for a good hook.
Morén spoke with Bandwagon about the record, pointing to
his guitar roots, the melancholy of Swedish village music, and live-tracking in the studio—all of which shaped an album released just months after a rescheduled Peter Björn & John show at Denver’s Bluebird Theater.
“What I really enjoy is just getting in [the studio] with a bass player and a drummer and trying to get the sound, while you're recording, that you like,” he says.
“So what you hear back in your in your phones, if you're using effects… for instance, on the title track, ‘The Song Forlorn,’ there's a lot of tape echo on the drums, and also a lot of delay stuff on my pedalboard with the guitars. And that was all there.
It’s so you actually react to it in the moment you’re playing.”
Often slotted under indiepop, Morén notes that stepping away from popularity metrics has helped him reinvent both the song and his sound. “I always liked pop melodies, but when I took away this thing like… Maybe
this is not pop music. This is, you know, art,” he adds.
Grungier tracks like opener “Where Are We,” “(Going To A) Cruel Country,” and “Swamp Mob” showcase his electric guitar, while piano and acoustic textures appear elsewhere. Guests include Lisa Hannigan, Sam Genders, de clair, Nicole Atkins, and Madison Cunningham.
Pagan-esque midsummer celebrations, communal singing, and early experiences with violin and guitar remain central themes. Growing up in Dalarna outside Stockholm—“the cultural heart of Sweden” but also jokingly “the Texas of Sweden” for its rockabilly culture—Morén recalls seeing Chuck Berry play in a field, along with other vintage rock-and-rollers who passed
through the area.
SunYears took shape during the pandemic after cancelled Peter Björn & John dates. The Song Forlorn follows the 2023 debut Come Fetch My Soul!, another record that began with Morén alone at home with a guitar.
The album also delivers rising acoustic ballads like “If You Were To Ask” and “The Song Forlorn,” familiar to fans of his Peter Björn & John work. Vulnerable lyricism surfaces throughout, particularly on “Your Dad Was Sad,” written about his father-in-law’s sudden passing.
All in all, The Song Forlorn is a strong addition to Morén’s catalog, sure to resonate with longtime listeners.
Zachary Visconti BandWagon Magazine
BY LANDON UNGERMAN
Two aspiring creatives meet for the first time, seated in conversation. One makes indie films, the other makes indie music. What begins as talk of their current projects soon develops into a larger discussion about the creative process and pursuing passion in the social media age. They part ways, only to slip into new, free-flowing conversations with artists of many disciplines. This was the scene at the open house for Friendly Collective’s newly opened studio in Denver, where musicians, fashion designers, photographers, painters, and more gathered to celebrate Friendly Collective’s next step in elevating the city’s creative scene by empowering artists to create through community.
The new space perfectly supports this mission, featuring a gallery room, a visual studio, a recording studio, communal lounge spaces, and beautiful windows that brighten the room with natural light. Once the sun set and more friends came through the open house, it was the comfortable environment and friendly energy that truly lit up the room. ego, Denver artist and founder of Friendly Collective, brought the night to a close with a heartfelt toast:
”We are trying to do something that matters. We can do that in Denver. We can do that together.” - ego
THE GARDEN GROWS. FRIENDLY COLLECTIVE’S NEW CREATIVE STUDIO OPENS IN DENVER. THE CREATORS
Friendly Collective is a hub that is connecting different creative communities in Denver, while spotlighting an array of talent through social media segments like The Sit Down, Chop Shop, and more. But behind it all are just two dudes who built up their tool-kits through years of navigating the creative industry in their own ways.
Christian Hundley is the visual architect, focused on film, photography, and design. ego, is the soundscaper, focused on music, audio, and performance projects. As Christian Hundley puts it, “We share a vision for this place, but we have different means of getting there, and both of them are happening side-by-side.” At its core, the collective is a place ideas come to life, but Christian and ego take it a step further by empowering artists to make a career out of it.
Friendly Collective serves as the home base for his ego’s own project, ego n friends, which has seen the likes of hundreds of thousands of streams, sold-out shows, and a US tour. That project has become a kind of living proof-ofconcept: a map showing how the space can support an artist’s long-term vision for their craft.
PHOTO: JACKSON BLUNT
PHOTO: CHRISTIAN HUNDLEY
In today’s landscape, independent artistry comes with more noise than ever. The rise of AI and the churn of online platforms blur what it means to be an artist. Musicians, filmmakers, and designers are expected to handle distribution, promotion, booking, and branding—leaving little time for actually creating, and often draining their spark.
Friendly Collective turns that noise into opportunity, giving artists the tools to take control of every facet of their craft, with the long-term goal of functioning as a kind of label. The studio is a multimedia ecosystem where disciplines collide, collaborations spark, and the bar for Denver art is raised. The mission is simple: make the best art possible, and share it with intention.
“We're trying to make art. Being independent is a much more difficult path to follow when you're trying to make a life and a career, but you get to stay true to who you are. That goes to the roots of what Friendly Collective is about—doing what you want to do, the way you want to do it,” says Christian Hundley.
DO WHAT YOU WANT, HOW YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT
Friendly Collective attracts creatives with a “let’s make it happen” mindset. There’s an unspoken expectation to care deeply about your craft, and artists who show up with that energy find it mirrored back—supported, amplified, and given 100%.
Denver’s creative garden is blooming, and it only thrives if we water it. For artists, the first step is simple—reach out. Bring an idea to the table, or grow your audience by stepping into their content. “Come with the energy where you want to create and grow,” ego says, “and we will be there to actualize your vision.” The doors are open, whether through a DM or their website.
For the rest of us, support can be just as tangible—follow their page, find a Sit Down performance that resonates, share it with your circle, and most importantly, stand behind the creative movement being built right here in your city.
BandWagon and Friendly Collective are launching a partnership designed to bridge artists with resources in the worlds of press, booking, and beyond. Stay tuned!
PHOTO: CHRISTIAN HUNDLEY
PHOTO: JACKSON BLUNT
PHOTO: JACKSON BLUNT
WELDWALLS MURAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATES LOCAL CULTURE THROUGH ART
BY SARAH YEPISHIN
PHOTO: GII ASTORGA
For artist Armando Silva and musician and art manager Briana Harris, bringing a mural festival to Greeley was a no-brainer. The city has a decades-long history of investment in public art. Large-scale works are splashed across walls around the city, with a particular concentration of murals downtown. Spend five minutes on the 8th Avenue corridor, and you’ll find yourself orienting around these landmarks.
This legacy of art laid a natural pathway for Silva and Harris to introduce a celebration of public art in Greeley through the WeldWalls Mural Festival.
The second annual WeldWalls festival will take place September 16-20, 2025, in various locations downtown. Expanding the footprint of last year’s festival, where several exterior walls at WeldWerks Brewing Company became a canvas for local and national artists, this year’s festival will see locations like Goal High School, B&H Auto Body, and Art Alley getting much more than a fresh coat of paint.
The vision behind the WeldWalls Mural Festival combines the city’s legacy of public art with its identity as an intersection of cultures.
“We wanted to create a sense of cultural exchange between our community and people who might be visiting from outside of it, between our artists on the lineup, and also between the artists and the audience,” Harris told me.
Murals serve as a distinct and accessible landmark of the city’s cultural identity. The magic of murals, Silva told me, and the hope he has for those who attend this festival, is that they remind you: “You are here.”
“IN A WORLD WHERE THERE'S AI, AND THERE'S SO MUCH DIGITAL, [A MURAL FESTIVAL] IS THIS REALLY NICE CONDUIT FOR YOU TO COME OUT AND BE PRESENT, ENGAGE, OR EVEN GET YOUR HANDS FULL OF PAINT AND MAKE SOMETHING,” SILVA SAID.
The theme from last year, “The New West,” continues this year. Both Harris and Silva leave this theme broadly open for both artists and event attendees to define.
“It’s a fun container for people to bring their own perspectives to,” Harris said. “What
does it mean for us as the community continues to evolve and change over time and welcomes more and more types of people and voices into the narrative?”
And that’s the idea: The New West is for us — the old, the young, the native, the visitor — to shape with our brushstrokes.
This year’s event brings a brand new lineup of both local and national artists, ranging from nationally recognized muralists to art students. BlackBox Arts Collective, a local group of artists, will be contributing a mural this year, and its executive director Layne McCaleb spoke to the importance of community expression at this event.
“We are all very proud of where we live and of the community of artists we have here,” McCaleb told me. “We believe this will be a great chance to highlight some of the voices in our community.”
How community members engage with the art is as key a part of the event as the art itself.
“There is an opportunity to engage both playfully and thoughtfully,” Silva said. He and Harris have planned a schedule for the festival that offers a little something for everyone. Those who want to engage deeply with the art can enjoy a Q&A with the artists on Wednesday at the UNC Gallery at Campus Commons. For those who want to wander through the mural sites and maybe even bring a little piece of the event home, there’s Friday’s Art Night Out. And Saturday boasts the big celebration, with mural tours, handson art activities, and pop-up shops from Northern Colorado artists and makers.
The festival is supported by several local businesses and organizations, including those mentioned who have shared their walls; the Greeley Art Commission; WeldWerks, which will once again host the celebration on Saturday; the Doubletree Hotel, which is housing artists from out of town; and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), which not only sponsored the event but also helped connect artists to walls in need of new life.
Throughout the festival’s four days, you can find the artists at various sites downtown and witness the transformation yourself. You may even have the chance to get a little paint on your hands and leave your mark: You were here.
PHOTO: GII ASTORGA
PHOTO: GII ASTORGA
PHOTO: KIM DESMOND
PHOTO: KIM DESMOND
BLANKSLATE
REINTRODUCES
THEMSELVES ON SOPHOMORE
BY CLEO MIRZA
ALBUM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CHARLEY
While still riding the high of their 2022 debut album, Summer on A Salt Flat, Denver-based altrock group blankslate almost came to an abrupt end last year when they parted ways with their lead singer. Founded by University of Denver roommates Tess Condron (keys, drums, percussion, and backing vocals, often simultaneously) and Rylee Dunn (guitar, bass, vocals), blankslate’s name ironically became a premonition for the duo, who had to start over–then start over again. Originally the band’s guitarist and bassist, Dunn’s recent shift into the role of vocalist has revitalized blankslate’s sound. On their much-anticipated sophomore album Lookout Mountain Charley , blankslate settled comfortably into their new identity, tackling love, loneliness, and their near-demise with grit and gusto.
Though only the last two tracks on Lookout Mountain Charley were written after the band downsized, Dunn and Condron have tag-teamed writing blankslate’s songs since their 2018 beginnings. While both collaborate on the song compositions, Dunn has always been blankslate’s lyricist. “I definitely felt empowered by the idea of singing the lyrics that I had written, and bringing them to life that way. They ended up being a pretty grungy batch of songs, which I feel like fits my voice really well, so I was excited by the prospect of exploring that too,” Dunn shares. “It’s kind of a chicken or the egg thing. Are they grungy because you sing them, or did you sing them because they’re grungy?,” adds Condron.
Dunn has reclaimed her lyrics, imbuing them with a fresh sense of immediacy while propelling blankslate into the punk and grunge territory where they’ve found their footing. “There are times when my voice is like, not pretty. It’s like a yell-y, almost punk thing that’s allowed us to explore an edgier side of our musicianship,” explains Dunn. “Tess and I both really love 90s grunge music, and grew up playing in that style. For a while, we became a little more indie, more pop, and got used to playing that. It’s cool to take the techniques of that, and dirty them up a lot more.” Though a few folkier tracks harken back to early blankslate, the duo’s affinity for ‘90s grunge and garage rock presides over their second album, manifesting in the form of fuzzy basslines, distorted guitars, and bold, uninhibited drumming from the ever-spirited Condron.
Blankslate just kicked off their first international tour, but are coming home to open for Trestles at Black Buzzard on September 12,
where they’ll play the new album–and maybe a few old favorites. As they travel across the continent, they continue to remind themselves that despite some low lows, blankslate has also achieved some really high highs. “If this is as far as we get, this moment right now, that’s far enough,” reflects Dunn. “We obviously are ambitious and want the whole world, but if you told eighteen yearold Rylee and Tess that we would play Red Rocks, and travel the country–we’re heading to Canada now–we would have just been completely stupefied.”
DON’T MISS BLANKSLATE OPENING FOR TRESTLES AT THE BLACK BUZZARD ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12! TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR $23.
PHOTO: LILLIAN FUGLEI
